Saturday, June 30, 2012

Weston Dressler had 180 receiving yards and scored three touchdowns Friday night as the Saskatchewan Roughriders dominated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43-16 on the road in the Canadian Football League regular-season opener for both teams.

Quarterback Kurt Rocco completed 18 of 33 passes for 262 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for another score as the New Orleans VooDoo (8-7), above .500 for the first time since their return last year, knocked off the Jacksonville Sharks (7-8) at home on Saturday for their third straight Arena Football League victory, enabling them to move into first place in the South Division of the American Conference with four regular-season games remaining.

Don Grady, an original cast member on The Mickey Mouse Club who is best remembered for his portrayal of Robbie Douglas on the long-running television sitcom My Three Sons, and who later became a composer and songwriter, passed away on Wednesday at his Thousand Oaks, California home after a four-year battle with cancer at age 68.

From 1943, here's Woody Woodpecker starring in the Walter Lantz cartoon "The Screwball."

In this one, Woody goes to a baseball game and causes all sorts of havoc.

Released theatrically by Universal Pictures, this cartoon, with music by Darrell Calker, animation by LaVerne Harding, and story by Ben Hardaway and Milt Schaffer, was produced by Walter Lantz and directed by Alex Lovy.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Wide receiver Courtney Smith ran for the winning touchdown with 21 seconds remaining while quarterback Kurt Rocco threw for four scores as the New Orleans VooDoo (7-7) defeated the Orlando Predators (2-12) 48-41 to move into a first-place tie with the Georgia Force in the American Conference's South Division in Friday night Arena Football League action.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

LeBron James (named series Most Valuable Player, shown here embracing teammate Dwyane Wade) registered a triple-double (26 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds) while Chris Bosh, Mike Miller, and Dwyane Wade added 24, 23, and 20 points respectively as the Miami Heat coasted to an NBA Finals game-five 121-106 home win on Thursday night over the Oklahoma City Thunder to win their second NBA title four games to one. On his third try, LeBron finally won his first ring.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

LeBron James (that's him shown here) scored 26 points, dished out 12 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds while Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each scored 25 as the Miami Heat overcame career-playoff high 43 points from Russell Westbrook and an additional 28 from Kevin Durant and defeated the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 104-98 on Tuesday in game four of the NBA Finals. The Heat, who now lead the series three games to one, can lock up their second NBA crown (and LeBron's first) with a home victory on Thursday night.

In this one, the city of Kleinschloss is infected with a dark scourge from the past. You see, a Legion of bloodsucking creatures who can assume human form have returned to prey upon unsuspecting citizens.

A detective begins investigating the gory deaths at the burgomaster's request.

Even with this overwhelming evidence the detective refuses to believe the existance of vampiric human bats, yet their existance would soon to be proven to be all too real.

With screenplay and story by Edward T. Lowe and cinematography by Ira Morgan, this picture was produced by Phil Goldstone and directed by Frank Strayer.

Lionel Atwell, Fay Wray, and Melvyn Douglas headlined the cast for this movie.

R. C. Owens, a longtime front office offical with the San Francisco 49ers, whom during his eight-year playing career had in impressive leaping ability that earned him the nickname "Alley Oop," passed away on Sunday at the age of 78.

At 6' 3", Mr. Owens was a college basketball star at the College of Idaho.

R.C. played five seasons (1957-61) with the 49ers befored playing for two years with the Baltimore Colts (1962-63), then finished his career in 1964 with the New York football Giants.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

LeBron James scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Dwyane Wade (shown here) added 25 (making nine of eleven free throws) as the Miami Heat overcame a ten-point second-half deficit and upended the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 91-85 in Sunday's third game of the NBA Finals, which Miami now leads two games to one. Game four is set for Tuesday night in Miami.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Quarterback Kurt Rocco completed 27 of 48 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns while running for two other scores as the New Orleans VooDoo (6-7) knocked off the Cleveland Gladiators (6-7) 54-42 on the road in Saturday Arena Football League action.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

LeBron James (above) scored 32 points while Dwyane Wade added 24, Shane Battier 17, and Chris Bosh 16 as the Miami Heat held off an Oklahoma City Thunder fourth-quarter rally to take game two of the NBA Finals 100-96 and square the series at one game apiece and grab home-court advantage, offsetting 32 points from Kevin Durant, 27 from Russell Westbrook, and 21 off the bench from James Harden. The Heat will host the next three games in Miami, starting with game three on Sunday.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Kevin Durant scored 17 of his 36 points in the third quarter on Tuesday as the Oklahoma City Thunder came back from a seven-point halftime deficit and overtook the visiting Miami Heat 105-94 in the opening game of the NBA Finals. Russell Westbrook (pictured here) added 27 (to go with his 11 assists and eight rebounds) for the Thunder while LeBron James scored 30 to pace the Heat.

Monday, June 11, 2012

During a five-minute first-period power play, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter (who scored twice overall), and Trevor Lewis (who also scored twice overall) each delivered a goal while Jonathan Quick (seen here celebrating with Drew Doughty), who was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff Most Valuable Player, stopped 17 of 18 shots as the Los Angeles Kings throttled the visiting New Jersey Devils 6-1 on Monday night to wrap up the first Stanley Cup Championship in their 45-year history as they won the Stanley Cup Final four games to two.

Frank Cady, the veteran character actor best remembered for his portrayal of Sam Drucker, the proprietor of a Hooterville-based general store throughout the runs of both Petticoat Junction (1963-70) and its' spinoff Green Acres (1965-71), passed away this past Friday at his Wilsonville, Oregon home at age 96.

Dick Beals, the voice actor best remembered for being the voice of the stop-action animated characters Speedy Alka-Seltzer and Gumby, as well as the original voice of Davey inthe syndicated television series Davey and Goliath, passed away back on May 29 at age 85.

Mr. Beals' youthful voice came from the fact that he had a childhood glandular problem that stunted his grown (Dick stood four feet, six inches tall).

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Quarterback Aaron Garcia completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jomo Wilson in the final minute as the San Antonio Talons (9-3) defeated the New Orleans VooDoo (5-7) 53-46 in Saturday Arena Football League action.

LeBron James scored 31 points (and grabbed 12 rebounds) while Dwyane Wade added 23 as the Miami Heat, despite a triple-double from Rajon Rondo (22 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds), defeated the visiting Boston Celtics 101-88 in game seven of the NBA Eastern Conference final on Saturday night, thus winning the series four games to three. The Heat will be playing in their second straight NBA Finals, which open on Tuesday night at Oklahoma City.

Bryce Salvador scored the game-winning goal 9:05 seconds into the second period on Saturday night as the New Jersey Devils ended the Los Angeles Kings' 10-game road winning streak to start the NHL postseason (12-0 over the past two postseasons) with a 2-1 home victory in game five of the Stanley Cup Final. Martin Brodeur (that's him here) stopped 25 of 26 shots. The series shifts to Los Angeles for game number six, to be played on Monday night.

Union Rags, with John Valazquez aboard, nipped Paynter at the wire on Saturday to win the 144th edition of the Belmont Stakes, run without Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner I'll Have Another, who was retired on Friday due to a tendon injury. Atigun finished third.

Thursday, June 07, 2012

LeBron James scored 45 points and grabbed 15 rebounds on Thursday night as the Miami Heat squared the NBA Eastern Conference final with a 98-79 road win over the Boston Celtics to force a seventh and deciding game to be played on Saturday in Miami.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Thanks to goals in the third period from Patrik Elias, Adam Henrique (game-winner, shown here, beating Jonathan Quick), and Ilya Kovalchuk (empty net), as well as Martin Brodeur stopping 21 of 22 shots, the New Jersey Devils averted a four-game sweep with a 3-1 win on the road Wednesday night over the Los Angeles Kings in game four of the Stanley Cup Final. The series heads to Newark, New Jersey for game five, to be played Saturday night. The Devils will try to do what they (as well as the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, and Phoenix Coyotes) have been unable to do---beat the Kings in a playoff game at home.

Kevin Durant scored 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Russell Westbrook added 25 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder, who once trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and were down by 15 at halftime, outscored the visiting San Antonio Spurs 59-36 in the second half en route to a 107-99 game-six victory on Wednesday night to win the NBA Western Conference final four games to two to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1996 when they were the Seattle SuperSonics.

Ray Bradbury, the famed science-fiction-fantasy author of such works as "Fahrenheit 451," which depicted a future of book burnings and technology, passed away on Tuesday somewhere in Southern California at age 91.

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Kevin Garnett scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Paul Pierce scored 19 as the Boston Celtics knocked off the Miami Heat 94-90 in game five of the NBA's Eastern Conference final, despite 30 points and 13 rebounds from LeBron James and 27 points from Dwyane Wade for the Heat. The Celtics, who lead the series three games to two, can lock up the conference title and a berth in the NBA Finals with a home win on Thursday.

Herb Reed, the founding father and last surviving original member of the Platters, the vocal group best remebered for 1950s hit recordings of "Only You" and "The Great Pretender," passed away on Monday at a Boston area hospice following a period of declining health at the age of 83.

The Kansas City, Missouri-born Mr. Reed founded the Platters in Los Angeles in 1953.

What was then a quartet won amateur talent shows while at the same time performed nights and weekends up and down the California coast while the members worked days at a car wash and at other odd jobs.

The group underwent several personnel changes, adding a female member to become a quintet in the process, then signed their first major recording contract (with Mercury) in 1955.

Herb, who gave the group its' name from disc jockeys' penchant for calling phonograph records "platters," sang bass on the group's four #1 hits, "Only You" (1955), "The Great Pretender" (1956), "Twilight Time" (1958), and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (1959).

The Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.

Herb was the only group member to appear on all their nearly 400 recordings.

Here are a couple of televised performances of the Platters in action, starting with their 1956 appearance on The Perry Como Show, singing "The Great Pretender." The other piece is their singing of "Only You" on what looks like an early 1960s telecast with Edd "Kookie" Byrnes and Bob "Maynard G. Krebs (pre-Gilligan)" Denver.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Kevin Durant scored 27 points while Russell Westbrook added 23 as the Oklahoma City Thunder negated the 34-point performance from Manu Ginobili and knocked off the San Antonio Spurs 108-103 on the road Monday night in game five of the NBA's Western Conference final. The Thunder have come back from a two-games-to-none deficit to take a three-games-to-two advantage with a chance to lock up the series (and their first NBA Finals appearance since 1996 when the franchise was in Seattle) with a win at home in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Jonathan Quick (shown here) stopped all 22 shots while Alec Martinez, Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter (power play), and Justin Williams (power play) each tallied once as the Los Angeles Kings dominated the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-0 on Monday to take a three-games-to-none lead in the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings can wrap up their first NHL championship with a home win on Wednesday.

Sunday, June 03, 2012

Despite blowing an 18-point lead in regulation time, the Boston Celtics evened the NBA Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece following their 93-91 Sunday home win over the Miami Heat. Paul Pierce scored 23 points while Kevin Garnett added 17 (to go with his 14 rebounds), Ray Allen 16, and Rajon Rondo 15 (to go with his 15 assists) as the Celtics had six players scoring in double-figures. LeBron James scored 29 to lead the Heat while Dwyane Wade added 20.

Richard Dawson, the British-born actor best remembered both for his portrayal as Cockney World War II prisoner of war Corporal Peter Newkirk on Hogan's Heroes and his duties as the Emmy Award-winning, female contestant-kissing host of Family Feud, passed away on Saturday night at the Ronald Reagan Memorial Hospital in the Los Angeles area at the age of 79.

Mr. Dawson had suffered from complications related to esophageal cancer.

Corporal Newkirk was one of several Allied prisoners in a Nazi POW camp who hoodwinked their captors and run the place themselves.

In the original Family Feud, which aired on ABC from 1976 to 1985, Richard became noted----or more appropriately----notorious for kissing all the female contestants. At the time the show ended in 1985, the show's executive producer estimated that the emcee kissed somewhere in the vicinity of 20,000."

In fact, Richard, whose first wife was the late British actress Diana Dors, actually married a contestant and promised her that he'd never kiss another contestant.

The series was revived in 1988 as The New Family Feud, hosted by comedian Ray Combs. Six years later, Richard returned but lasted only one season(but, true to his word, never did kiss any contestants).

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Jeff Carter scored the winning goal at 13:42 of overtime on Saturday night as the Los Angeles Kings won an NHL-record tenth game on the road to start the playoffs with their 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils to take a two-games-to-none advantage in the Stanley Cup Final. Jonathan Quick (shown here) stopped 32 of 33 shots as the Kings head back to Los Angeles, site of Monday's third game.

Kevin Durant scored 18 of his 36 points during the final seven minutes of the contest while Serge Ibaka added a career-high 26 as the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the visiting San Antonio Spurs 109-103 in game four of the NBA Western Conference Final on Saturday night to deadlock the series at two games apiece. The series resumes Monday night in San Antonio.

Quarterback Kurt Rocco completed 21 of 24 passes for 293 yards and seven touchdowns (and ran for another score) while Josh Bush caught three TDs (en route to a 119-yard night) and L. J. Castile 2 (107 receiving yards) as the New Orleans VooDoo (5-6) never trailed in their 57-35 road domination of the Georgia Force (6-5) in Saturday Arena Football League action.

Friday, June 01, 2012

Kevin Garnett scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Rajon Rondo had a 21-point, 10-assist night as the Boston Celtics offset the 34-point performance of LeBron James and held off the visiting Miami Heat 101-91 in Friday's third game of the NBA's Eastern Conference Final, which Miami still leads two games to one. Game four will be in Boston on Sunday night.